Absolute Favorite Videos
Above: Two favorite parts - the camera following her fall and the reaction of the anchors in the studio
Below: If you haven't been introduced to Aicha before, now you have. Prepare to be amazed!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Another excerpt from The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen:
He, who is born not from human stock, or human desire or human will, but from God himself, one day took to himself everything that was under his footstool and he left with his inheritance, his title of Son, and the whole ransom price. He left for a far country... the faraway land... where he became as human beings are and emptied himself. His own people did not accept him and his first bed was a bed of straw! Like a root in arid ground, he grew up before us, he was despised, the lowest of men, before whom one covers his face. Very soon, he come to know exile, hostility, loneliness... After having given away everything in a life of bounty, his worth, his peace, his light, his truth, his life... all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom and the hidden mystery kept secret for endless ages: after having lost himself among the lost children of the house of Israel, spending his time with the sock (and not with the well-to-do), with the sinners (and not with the just), and even with prostitutes to whom he promised entrance into the Kingdom of his Father, after having been treated as a glutton and a drunkard, as a friend of tax collectors and sinners, as a Samaritan, a possessed, a blasphemer; after having offered everything, even his body and his blood; after having felt deeply in himself sadness, anguish, and a a troubled soul; after having gone to the bottom of despair, with which he voluntarily dressed himself as being abandoned by his Father far away from the source of living water, he cried out from the cross on which he was nailed: "I am thirsty." He was laid to rest in the dust and the shadow of death. And there, on the third day, he rose up from the depths of hell to where he had descended, burdened with the crimes of all, he bore our sins, our sorrows he carried. Standing straight, he cried out: "Yes, I am ascending to my Father, and your Father, to my God, and your God." And he reascended to heaven. Then in the silence, looking at his Son and all his children, since his Son had become all in all, the Father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; let us eat and celebrate! Because my children, who, as you know, were dead have returned to life; they were lost and have been found again! My prodigal Son has brought them all back." They all began to have a feast dressed in their long robes, washed white in the blood of the Lamb.
The previous quote was written by Frere Pierre Marie who founded the Fraternity of Jerusalem, a community of monks living in the city. He writes of the story of the Prodigal Son being a picture of the life of Jesus. It is an incredibly beautiful portrayal of the life of Jesus.
He, who is born not from human stock, or human desire or human will, but from God himself, one day took to himself everything that was under his footstool and he left with his inheritance, his title of Son, and the whole ransom price. He left for a far country... the faraway land... where he became as human beings are and emptied himself. His own people did not accept him and his first bed was a bed of straw! Like a root in arid ground, he grew up before us, he was despised, the lowest of men, before whom one covers his face. Very soon, he come to know exile, hostility, loneliness... After having given away everything in a life of bounty, his worth, his peace, his light, his truth, his life... all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom and the hidden mystery kept secret for endless ages: after having lost himself among the lost children of the house of Israel, spending his time with the sock (and not with the well-to-do), with the sinners (and not with the just), and even with prostitutes to whom he promised entrance into the Kingdom of his Father, after having been treated as a glutton and a drunkard, as a friend of tax collectors and sinners, as a Samaritan, a possessed, a blasphemer; after having offered everything, even his body and his blood; after having felt deeply in himself sadness, anguish, and a a troubled soul; after having gone to the bottom of despair, with which he voluntarily dressed himself as being abandoned by his Father far away from the source of living water, he cried out from the cross on which he was nailed: "I am thirsty." He was laid to rest in the dust and the shadow of death. And there, on the third day, he rose up from the depths of hell to where he had descended, burdened with the crimes of all, he bore our sins, our sorrows he carried. Standing straight, he cried out: "Yes, I am ascending to my Father, and your Father, to my God, and your God." And he reascended to heaven. Then in the silence, looking at his Son and all his children, since his Son had become all in all, the Father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; let us eat and celebrate! Because my children, who, as you know, were dead have returned to life; they were lost and have been found again! My prodigal Son has brought them all back." They all began to have a feast dressed in their long robes, washed white in the blood of the Lamb.
The previous quote was written by Frere Pierre Marie who founded the Fraternity of Jerusalem, a community of monks living in the city. He writes of the story of the Prodigal Son being a picture of the life of Jesus. It is an incredibly beautiful portrayal of the life of Jesus.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Some friends from Fuller took off for a few days during spring break and went to Anza-Borrego State Park out in the desert between San Diego and Palm Springs. It was a great trip and wonderful time to see another aspect of God's magnificent creation. Here are a few pics from the trip.
Taking a hike through a slot canyon in the desert of California
Taking a hike through a slot canyon in the desert of California
Taking a break from the hike and enjoying a cool stream on the feet
It was a beautiful stream cutting through the canyon
Crazy cactus-like plant with beautiful red flowers overlooking the canyon
Portrait with the mountains in the backdrop near our camp
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Excerpt from The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen:
"But now a time has come when it is possible to look back on those years of turmoil and to describe, with more objectivity than was possible before, the place to which all of that struggle has brought me. I am still not free enough to let myself be held completely in the safe embrace of the Father. In many ways, I am still moving toward the center. I am still like the prodigal: traveling, preparing speeches, anticipating how it will be when I finally reach my Father's house. But I am, indeed, on my way home."
* This is taken from the Prologue of the book where Henri Nouwen is describing his spiritual journey and the impact that the story and especially the painting of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt had on his journey to be fully embraced in the arms of the Father. I deeply understand Nouwen's combination of desire and fear of this intimate connection. This is a wonderful book that places ourselves in the shoes of the younger son, the older son, and the father.
"But now a time has come when it is possible to look back on those years of turmoil and to describe, with more objectivity than was possible before, the place to which all of that struggle has brought me. I am still not free enough to let myself be held completely in the safe embrace of the Father. In many ways, I am still moving toward the center. I am still like the prodigal: traveling, preparing speeches, anticipating how it will be when I finally reach my Father's house. But I am, indeed, on my way home."
* This is taken from the Prologue of the book where Henri Nouwen is describing his spiritual journey and the impact that the story and especially the painting of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt had on his journey to be fully embraced in the arms of the Father. I deeply understand Nouwen's combination of desire and fear of this intimate connection. This is a wonderful book that places ourselves in the shoes of the younger son, the older son, and the father.
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